Agiou Pnevmatos

Agiou Pnevmatos, The Holy Spirit

40 days after the Easter rising of Christ.  For forty days the greeting should have been, and once was, Christos Anesti (Christ is Risen) and the answer Alithos Anesti (Truly he is Risen) instead of Kalimera (Good Morning).  Now we can go back to Kalimera.  Only the priests and truly religious follow this practice now.

Orthodox Whit Monday, Agiou Pnevmatos, was yesterday, a public holiday.  Beautiful weather, long weekend, schools have just closed, I was surprised the island wasn't awash with visitors from the big city.  

There are plenty of people around, Greeks and tourists, walking up and down, but not enough to fray my nerves and send me heading for my quiet home in the hills.

Saturday was All Spirits Saturday when bowls of funeral wheat are taken to church to be blessed and then handed out, in paper bags with a plastic spoon, in remembrance of your dear beloved, gone but not forgotten,  The priest will go down to the cemetary and bless their graves for a few euros, or even none at all.

Dialysis

I had only heard the word 'kidney dialysis', didn't know what it all entailed, how life changing it is for those concerned until a few years ago when a friend of ours, out of the blue was diagnosed.  'Out of the blue' seems to be the norm.  After which there is a complete lifestyle change, a disruption of normal life routines, your name on a waiting list for a new kidney, if you're a suitable candidate, if one can be found which your body won't reject..........when your turn comes.

Now dialysis is a word that pops up regularly because a member of our extended family has been diagnosed with kidney problems.  The dialysis machine does the work of the kidneys when they are no longer able to clean all those wastes from your blood.

Three times a week this 85 year old woman, Eleni, the sister of my daughter's mother-in-law, must travel one and a half hours to the Clinic, spend 3 hours being hooked up to a dialysis machine and then one and a  half hours home again.  She's lucky to be part of a large close-knit family.  There is always someone to drive her there and back.  Otherwise she would have to take a seat in a small bus which takes all the local patients 3 times a week.  The bus will only take her and not her escort and the whole journey would be much longer and far more tiring.

Last Wednesday no-one else was available so I took Eleni and 80 year old Tasia, her sister, as escort.  It is summer, it was hot.  Winter will mean snow and rain and wind but they must go whatever the skies hurl at them. 

Eleni and Tasia are the maiden aunts who  brought up their siblings 9 children while the parents were working long hours in the tourist industry.  

Eleni made huge loaves of sourdough bread decorated with red eggs at easter, walnuts and almonds at Christmas.  She made the most amazing fried feta cheese flat bread, piles of it and gave it away to all the cousins and nephews and neices, and us too once we were part of the family.  She taught me how to roll and cook homemade pasta.  Every season had some home made speciality which all the family loved, loves still.  Tasia has goats and the easter sacrificial lamb was always one of hers.  Eggs?  I've never known hens to lay so many eggs.   Another 20 were 'forced' on me when I brought them home the other day.  Fresh eggs for our growing grandchildren.

The goats have now gone.  Tasia no longer has time to look after them.  Her main concern is her sister.  Eleni walks but unsteadily now.  Tasia is always at her elbow.  These are two strong and caring women.

Eleni's rose bushes are legend. She grows the biggest, most luscious blooms in every colour, looks after her garden as she looked after the nephews and nieces, and now the 'greats'.

The clinic is relatively new by the looks of it and naturally very clean.  There is a waiting room with soft chairs and coffee is offered for those waiting, without charge.  I didn't waste any time ordering an iced coffee (frappé).  The aircon was at a comfortable temperature and I could have spent 3 hours there reading and drinking coffee with ease

Clock watching

After an hour the previous lot of patients all trooped, shuffled downstairs.  Most of them in their 80's, as they told us later while discussing benefits and costs, all of them having dialysis for years, all cheerful, all ready for a chat.  All with a permanent tube in their arm or shoulder.

The treatment for those 85 and older is free and they get an amount to pay for their transport.  

They sat and waited for their bus, eating their toasted sandwich and drinking the orange juice provided by the staff.  One of them in a wheelchair, some just able to walk and some from towns even further away than ours.  

I brought a book with me but didn't even open it.  Greeks don't read and it seemed rude to sit and engross myself in this story* instead of talking to Tasia and trying to make those 3 hours less of a burden for her.   

 Next time I'll drop them off and go shopping.   

* Sol, the book is  Harry Mount's Odyssey

Ancient Greece in the footsteps of Odysseus.

By Harry Mount

Outdoor viewing

The TV has been set up under the grapefruit tree. Now all we need is a nice tablecloth and a thick piece of canvas to protect it from the searing sun during the day.

This is our evening sitting area and it's open to the night sky, stars and tonight's full moon.

That's my iced coffee on the table. 

More time is spent talking than watching television in the summer but it does come in handy to see tennis and a bit of football.

Imam

This popular greek (mediterranean) dish comes with a turkish name.  Called simply 'Imam' by most, its full title is 'Imam Bayialdi', the Imam fainted, apparently when he saw how much olive oil his wife had used in the cooking.  Or maybe it was just so delicious he fell down in an ecstasy.

I have cut down on the olive oil at least by half by baking the aubergine instead of frying them.  Eggplant soak up olive oil like a sponge.

I  cut the aubergine (eggplant) in half, score it quite deeply with a knife and bake it in the oven for about half an hour till it is soft.  I just put them in a baking dish, no oil, no water or other liquid.

Then I scoop out the insides, keeping it to put in the filling.  When the aubergines are soft and have cooled a little it is easy to remove the inside flesh

Then into a pot go sliced onions, not diced, 2 or 3 chopped garlic cloves, 2 or 3 big tomatoes diced, a few tablespoons of olive oil, chopped parsley, mint and basil, salt and pepper.  Add the chopped aubergine that you removed from each half.

Cook till the onions are soft but not browned, add extra tomato juice or water if it is a little dry

Here is where you can add feta cheese to make it just a little tastier.  Drizzle olive oil over each half aubergine, put crumbled feta in first and then fill up each little 'boat' with the onion and tomato mixture till they overflow and fill the dish with tomatoes and onions..

To keep it moist cover with slices of tomato.

Pour some more olive oil over the top of all this and then bake at 180oC for about half an hour.  I over cooked mine and they were a bit black on top just like my stuffed tomatoes.  This blackened crust just gives it more flavour.  That's my excuse anyway.

Imam - eggplants baked with tomatoes, onions and garlic

i've seen several greek cooking programmes lately where they have made these.

Each cook has a slight variation.

One drizzled balsamic vinegar over the shells before adding the feta.  Another added honey to the tomato sauce.  Adding a little sweetener of some kind cuts through the acid of the tomato.

One cook added raisins which I thought was a great idea but my traditional greek person who loves this dish would never eat it with raisins.  This same cook also served them with greek yoghurt.

They are always eaten with a big slice of feta cheese, bread and don't forget that glass of wine, after all red wine is very much part of the mediterranean diet.

If you don't like eggplant then try this recipe with zuchhini.  Same method.  Cut them in half, score them, bake till soft, hollow out and fill with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs etc

Housewives used to salt the eggplant and soak them in water for an hour to remove the bitterness.  Waste of time.  I've never done that and they have never been bitter.

Bon appetit

Kali Orexi

Enjoy your food!

An added note, nothing to do with eggplant.  Thunder has been rumbling around for over an hour and the sky is lit up with really bright lightening flashes.  The storm rumbled round and round us and finally the rain has started.  Not enough to really water the garden though.  It is beautiful and cool now and I have been standing on the terrace enjoying the show.  Methinks it will only be a short one before it rumbles on over towards Athens.

Fresh Tomatoes

Summer in the northern hemisphere.  Fresh tomatoes are ripenng on the vine.  Soon there'll be a glut, we all hope.  Stuffed tomatoes and greek salad are the most popular dishes for our big tomatoes but this recipe comes in a close third.  

This is called Kayianas around here but elsewhere it is also known as Strapatsatha.  It's a very quick, simple meal to make and is fine eaten hot or cold, or luke warm as we prefer in this now mounting heat.

It is basically, only, eggs, feta and grated tomatoes with a little olive oil in the pan and lots of pepper.

I grate the tomatoes on a coarse grater.  It only takes a few minutes and they come out with juice and a few bits as well.  

Throw the skin in the compost.,  

You could also just chop a couple of tomatoes, skin and all

Put some oil in a frying pan.  Add the tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes.

Add a large piece of feta, crumbling it into the tomatoes.  Let the feta heat up with the tomatoes.  It should melt a little and at least become soft.  Depends on your fets.

Beat the eggs with a fork, as though you are making scrambled eggs

Add the eggs to the tomato and feta and move it all around, on a low heat, till the eggs are cooked through.  Don't mix it too much or it will be watery.  Let it set on the bottom a little and then turn it all over

Serve.

Spoon it over a few pieces of toasted bread or have the bread separately.  I toast the bread and sprinkle with a little olive oil and dried oregano

Add lots of pepper

You could add bacon or ham or leftover yellow cheese from your area.  Whatever you have on hand

 - Ingredients for 2 hungry people

4 eggs

100-200 grams feta (we use more because we like the feta taste and it makes it creamier)

2 or 3 large tomatoes - depends on the tomatoes as to how many you need.  You want a nice thick bed of tomato before you add the rest of the ingredients

olive oil

salt and pepper

Kali Orexi

Instagram

I recently discovered Instagram and there's no holding me back.  I'm always reluctant to start something new but once I've begun, hold on to your horses!

My grandson downloaded the app and told me the basics and I was up and off.  I can go jogging with my neice in New Zealand, follow Christine's garden in the US, marvel at photos of NZ scenery, admire the work of fellow knitters and crocheters world wide.  It's fun.

Instagram is just that, instant.  You post a photo, add a few words and it's 'out there' for all your friends and family.   

I often post photos on Instagram when I am sitting at a cafeteria drinking coffee and am bored stiff listening to Greek men debating.

Sunday was a cafeteria day.  We went down early to vote, once again.  

After voting we crossed the road and sat at the 'Green chairs' right on the quay side.

You can see how bored I was by the number of photos I posted.  

Voted again this morning but only a repeat of the 

District elections.  In and out in 2 minutes and no gauntlet of last minute vote gatherers outside this time

Left my keys in the ignition while I went to vote.  No danger here of losing  my machine to a joy rider or bike robber.  Who would want it anyway?

Watching the antics as this 'Dream boat' charter came in to land.  Wouldn't like to have the boat next to them.  They came in sideways, the boys frantically putting out bolsters, the girls laughing and obviously enjoying yet another drink.  I obviously had nothing better to do than watch them.

I told him right from the start I wasn't going to feed him yet he decided to stay with us.  Sorry, pussy cat, all we've got are potato crisps

The yacht harbour is full.  A sure sign summer is here

Lots of activity in the harbour.  Another catamaran comes in, the car ferry has just passed and the big ferry from Athens is doing an extremely wide turn before backing in to the wharf

Pascal, our tireless waitress, ran back and forwards across the road with loaded trays before returning to tables of locals waving hands and calling 'Pascal, Pascal'.  She has endless patience.

Later on we watched greek tennis player Stephanos Tsitsipas get beaten by  Wawrinka.

You can find me on Instagram under the name

nana_linda_nz

'Baileys'

Homemade 'Baileys'

or maybe the proper title should be

Homemade Whisky (or whiskey) Cream

one tin of condensed milk

1 cup of cream

2 cups of whisky - taste it, you may like more

1 spoon instant coffee granules

3 spoons some sort of cocoa or drinking chocolate

Blend

The recipe says that high speed blenders may make the mix curdle.  Mine didn't curdle but our little mixer is a slow old thing.  I was thinking of using a stick blender on the next batch.   They're great for mayo, it never separates this way.  

It keeps in the fridge for up to 2 months.  Didn't last that long in our fridge, or out of it!  

I've just found a recipe for this liqueur made with vodka.  My visitors brought us loads of vodka and it did cross my mimd to use some this way but we all agreed, then, that it needed that bite and flavour that whisky has.  However, having run out of whisky and with a can of condensed milk in the cupboard and 2 bottles of vodka in the bar I just might give it a try!

Brandy wouldn't be too bad either.

I've seen mint flavoured Baileys.  There is no mint essence available  here so I'd have to make my own sort of mint flavouring  with mint leaves   That's one twist I might try.

Someone brought a bottle of whisky for K's name day and there's always a tin of condensed milk on hand.  I can see another bottle of whisky liqueur coming up.  I'll have to wait till he opens it though before I pinch a little.  It's black label, slightly better than the usual 'Johnny'.

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